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A Glimpse of the Newly Restored Metropolitan Theatre

The Metropolitan Theater will house the quincentennial evening show on April 27, 2021, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan, which will serve as the maiden show of MET after 25 years since its closure in 1996.

  “Doors of the newly restored Met will be open to all Filipinos from all classes of our society. For this is the people’s theater,” the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) chairman Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso shared a glimpse of the newly restored Metropolitan Theatre on NCCA Official FB Page. MET is set to be inaugurated in 2021.

“The inauguration of the new MET is the culmination of a long arduous journey. This has been made possible by the determined effort of a long line of individuals who share a common dream to bring back to life one of our nation’s cultural treasures. We will strive to do our best to be worthy of this collective effort as well as the high expectations of our people,” Lizaso added.  The Commission’s chairman is honored that the realization of the dream to restore and rehabilitate the nation’s theater will happen under his watch.

The Metropolitan Theater will house the quincentennial evening show on April 27, 2021, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan, which will serve as the maiden show of MET after 25 years since its closure in 1996.

Currently, the NCCA and the City of Manila headed by Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso is working on a partnership to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the city at the Metropolitan Theater this June 2021.

In 2015, the NCCA purchased the Metropolitan Theater from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and started its rehabilitation and restoration, with the National Museum of the Philippines and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines providing the necessary technical expertise. Representatives from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) were also consulted in the rehabilitation of the MET’s Main Theatre.

The NCCA, headed by its chairman Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso, executive director Al Ryan S. Alejandre, deputy executive director Marichu G. Tellano, and supervising officer for administration Bernan Joseph R. Corpuz, is the prime government agency that promotes and develops Philippine arts and culture.

#MetropolitanTheater #NCCA #restoration #rehabilitation #preciousmoments #rubyasoyph

Source: https://www.facebook.com/NCCAOfficial

Photos: Courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/NCCAOfficial

 

 

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Nikulas Lebajo Interprets “Carnival” For His 20th One-Man Show

Master minimalist and award-winning artist Nikulas Lebajo has depicted the subject matter in the context of visual interpretation for his 20th one-man exhibition aptly titled “Carnival,” showcasing more than ten pieces of conscientiously, and well-thought-of oil on canvas paintings.

“Circus” 36″x 48″, Oil on Canvas, 2019

As life-imitates-art, the appeal of this theme to the artist is deeper as he looks back on his more than 30-year journey as an artist and what he has accomplished thus far in his painting career. He found it an excellent means by which to capture society’s idiosyncrasies. He presented his figures in such a way to express their inner meanings rather than their outer, anatomical forms. In this way, he was able to convey the nuances of his creations.

In one of his works titled “Circus,” characterizes the strong persona of the brawny man with the circus characters in the background doing their tricks and the almost silhouette images of his trademark jars in succession. He organized the images depicted and began to build volume of earth colors across the surface of the canvas. The effect was imagery that no longer ebbed but instead, vulnerable to enter the viewer’s space and construal. Almost crowded to the point of teeming, the figures in Nikula’s works astonish with their appearance.

“Bearded Lady”, 4×4, Oil on Canvas, 2020

Carnival as a social institution, “is a culture defined by folk-humor, a temporary space where everything is permissible, except, arguably, violence.” It is a time of glut, occupying the space between art and life. It is a transitional space, continually changing.

“Circus Still Life”, 36″x 48″, Oil on Canvas, 2019

It wasn’t only Nikulas who got charmed by the carnival or has tackled the same theme. If we consider the development of modern art, it quickly becomes apparent those artists like Seurat, Renoir, and Degas to Picasso and Matisse, among others, all felt obliged to depict the circus. Nikulas has portrayed it in the present time by decomposing and deconstructing the figures using technology and skillful rendering.

And while the carnival is by definition a temporary space, subject to ebb and flow of life, the spirit behind it is never-ending, persisting in the creative minds of artists. As long as there are artists who remain captivated by the theme, it will live on. When we celebrate our gentler natures along with transcendent aspects of our humanity, we celebrate the fullness of being. It means living without trepidation and disgrace, it means being an all-embracing and upright human being.

At the opening reception of “Carnival”: Jonathan Sy, owner of Gallery BIG; Dominic John Galeon, Manila Bulletin sub-editor for Arts & Culture; and guest
Special guests, Ms. Aditi Ahuja, Mrs. Universe-Generosity, philanthropist and artist (center); with her husband Proteek Ahuja; and Ms. Jeanette Kamphuis, Ms. Noble Queen, musician, and artist.

 

Nikulas recent works will be on exhibit until April 15, 2020, at The Saturday Group Gallery, 4/F East Wing, Shangri-la Mall, Mandaluyong City. It is presented by the Gallery BIG.

Nikulas started his painting career as the Grand Prize winner of the Shell National Painting competition in 1989. He had successive one-man shows at the then prestigious The Luz Gallery, a consistent prize winner in the past Shell, Metrobank, and Philippine Art Awards competitions, and has had exhibitions at noted galleries here and abroad. He took up Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines.

“Carnival” is sponsored by ABS-CBN’s Metro Channel and Metro.Style. Media partners include asianTraveler magazine, Alike Media, Inc., manileno.ph, Experience Travel and Living Magazine.

#carnival #onemanshow #nikulaslebajo #gallerybig #thesaturdaygroupgallery #preciousmoments #rubyasoyph

Photos courtesy of Gallery BIG

 

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Raul Lebajo’s ‘Enter His World’ Book Launch

In his book, the artist invites the viewer and art lover to enter his fantastic world and pursue the surrealist vision in his paintings and drawings.

It was a proud moment for our family when my father-in-law, master surrealist painter Raul Lebajo launched his first coffee table book entitled, “Enter His World,” at the Ayala Museum recently. Finally, it has been out after 20 years in the making. It was authored by noted art critic and historian, Alice Guillermo, and published by LC: Questor Worldwide Corporation.

In his book, the artist invites the viewer and art lover to enter his fantastic world and pursue the surrealist vision in these paintings and drawings.  “Special to Lebajo’s art is the experience of universal energy that courses throughout the whole nature,” describes the author. ”

Lebajo’s masterpieces crafted over the years are divided into several topics which composed the book’s entirety.  Of course, there are landscapes of cosmic energy, the secret life of plants, offerings of fruit, an uncommon aviary, reinventing nature, varieties of organic life, a marine universe, humans in nature, forces as archetypes, cosmic furniture, the vases series, sculptures, and other works.

“Raul Lebajo is a true artist of nature, but this does not mean that he does traditional landscapes and still life paintings of flowers. He does not paint valleys of earth, trees, and sky as though they stretched out before him, or does he paint flowers bunched together in a vase for his personal delectation. Not for him is a linear perspective, for, in fact, he plays with perspective, and his views are often warped, telescoped, spiraling, and spinning into multiple worlds,” – Alice Guillermo. She received her graduate degrees in France and at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.